Ruan Lang walked out of the prison gate with a heavy heart and looked up to see a luxurious sedan parked at the door.
This was the sedan chair of the Wang family and his son. Ruan Lang secretly thought it was wrong and immediately walked over.
Wang Jing, dressed in colorful brocade robes, walked out of the sedan with a swagger, holding a gold scroll in his hand.
"Why are you here? You are so nostalgic!" Ruan Lang saw his former friends and today's enemies with a very unfriendly attitude.
Wang Jing touched the mustache on his lips, not to be outdone: "Hey, isn't this my former slave? It's true that a man relies on his clothes and his horse relies on his saddle. Even if he is a lackey, wearing this command will make him look like a slave.
His clothes look a bit like a human being!"
Ruan Lang was already in a bad mood, and when he heard his words, he became even more angry: "If you don't build a house for the emperor, why are you here? You have no friends here, and you are not welcome here!"
Wang Jing curled his lips, shook the scroll in his hand in front of him, and said triumphantly: "Look, I'm here to interrogate Xia Yunqing under the imperial decree!"
Ruan Lang's heart sank, he grabbed the scroll and glanced at it hastily, with a look of disbelief on his face: "When did this happen? Why haven't I heard the emperor mention it?"
Wang Jing rolled his eyes contemptuously and laughed exaggeratedly: "But the commander of the Imperial Guards Department really thinks that the emperor will take you seriously! My father is the emperor's confidant, so you'd better stop dreaming.
!」
After that, he patted Ruan Lang's chest with the back of his hand and snorted: "Quickly give up! Don't delay my business! Maybe, it won't take long for us to go back to our respective places!"
After that, he straightened his clothes and walked in the door with a swagger.
Ruan Lang unfolded the scroll again and read it carefully. Sure enough, it said - Wang Jing was appointed to interrogate Xia Yunqing.
Ruan Lang read it several times and was puzzled:
How could it be? How could the emperor do this? Everyone in the world knows the hostility of the Wang family towards Xia Yunqing. If Xia Yunqing is handed over to Wang Jing, will he still have a way to survive?
After a thousand turns, he suddenly had an idea and discovered something fishy about this matter:
As the second assistant to the cabinet, Wang Su already had the power to draft decrees.
Eunuch Shuangxi, who was the eunuch of the Palm Seal, was once his ally.
Therefore, it cannot be confirmed whether this matter is the emperor's personal will.
At a glance, he saw many jailors carrying torture instruments towards the interrogation room.
He secretly yelled that he was not good, and rushed over to stop them: "You are so brave! Didn't you say that no one is allowed to torture Mr. Xia?"
Several jailers were shaken and said tremblingly: "Master Commander, this is what Master Wang ordered. He comes up with imperial edicts at every turn, and you guys... don't dare to disobey!"
Ruan Lang's face darkened, he flicked his sleeves and walked in angrily through the door.
He kicked open the door of the interrogation room and saw Wang Jing sitting on a chair with her legs crossed, drinking tea leisurely.
Scenes from the past came to mind again.
New grudges and old grudges made Ruan Lang furious for a moment, and he rushed over and overturned the table in front of Wang Jing.
"Wang Jing, if I remember correctly, the imperial decree says that you can be brought to trial, but it does not say that you can use punishment! I think you want to take the opportunity to avenge your private revenge!"
Ruan Lang pointed at his nose and questioned, his other hand already on the handle of the knife.
Seeing that his interest was lost, Wang Jing put his hands on his hips and got angry: "Where did all the nonsense come from? You, a small commander of the Royal Guards Department, really think you can reach the sky? I will use punishment, but you What should I do? What is written in this imperial edict is not a matter of a word from my father! Who do you think you are, how dare you interfere with my father!"
In a moment of eloquence, he actually told the truth about the imperial edict!
Ruan Lang was not polite, grabbed his collar and lifted him up.
"No matter how your father covers the sky with his hands, he can't reach the Imperial Guard! Our Imperial Guard only listens to the emperor's orders, and no one else can do it! If you insist on doing this, then I can guarantee that you will be the ones who will be sent to prison tomorrow. Father and son!
"
Ruan Lang narrowed his eyes slightly and warned him in a ferocious tone.
"Hahaha!"
Although Wang Jing was completely restrained by Ruan Lang, he was not as timid as before.
Instead, as if he had heard a joke, he sarcastically said: "Open your eyes and take a good look! The emperor wants Xia Yunqing to die, and you can't stop him!"
As he spoke, the jailer had already brought in various torture instruments.
Ruan Lang shook his head and let go of his hand, Wang Jing fell to the ground intact again. Chinese website
He straightened his clothes, took the whip in a grand manner, stepped on the stool, glanced at Ruan Lang provocatively, and shouted to the jailer: "Go, bring Xia Yunqing to me! I want to interrogate him properly. !」
Seeing Wang Jing's virtue of taking advantage of others' power, Ruan Lang almost bit his gums with hatred.
At this time, there was no time to fight with him, so Ruan Lang walked out. He had to face the emperor and find out whether this was the emperor's will.
He hurriedly walked all the way, but no matter whether it was Zichen Palace, Long Live Palace, or Emperor Yu's study or bedroom, Emperor Yu was nowhere to be seen.
Even the few eunuchs beside the emperor could not see any of them.
Ruan Lang anxiously walked around the palace and bumped into Hua Fangyi who was out for a walk.
Looking at Ruan Lang who looked embarrassed and was covered in sweat, Hua Fangyi hesitated for a moment and then walked over gracefully.
"Master Ruan, what are you looking for? Why do you look so anxious?"
Seeing Hua Fangyi, Ruan Lang immediately clasped his fists and raised his hands, and said respectfully: "Good luck to you, your concubine! I have something urgent to report to you. I wonder where the emperor is?"
Hua Fangyi was slightly startled, and said quietly: "In a few days it will be the death anniversary of the Empress Dowager, and the emperor has already set off for the Empress Dowager's mausoleum!"
Ruan Lang was shocked and asked quickly: "Who went with the emperor?"
Hua Fangyi looked at him with a strange expression and said, "Eunuch Shuangxi and the Taoist priest have gone with him! Because he has to fast during this period, he didn't take any concubines or maids with him."
Ruan Lang's heart sank, his body swayed, and he murmured to himself: "Oh no, something is going to go wrong now..."
Hua Fangyi frowned and asked softly: "What's wrong?"
Ruan Lang didn't have the intention to answer her, so he simply said: "No, I have to go to the palace to find the emperor!"
With that said, he walked out aggressively.
"etc!"
Hua Fangyi stopped him from behind and advised softly: "I advise you not to go. Even if you catch up with the emperor, not only will he not listen to you, but he will scold you! Moreover, before he leaves, I have already handed over all the affairs of the court to Wang Su..."
Ruan Lang slowly turned around and looked at her with a pale face, a line of cold sweat slowly falling down.
"It's over, it's over...Master Xia will definitely die now..."
——Torture——
In the evening, the clouds gathered, and soon it began to rain. Scattered raindrops fell into the cell and wet the title page of the book.
After entering the cell, Xia Yunqing asked for nothing more than a book.
The dim lights, damp walls, moldy smell, and unpalatable food all did not affect his enjoyment of reading.
It seemed that what was waiting for him was not a catastrophe, but a reunion with old friends.
Eighteen kinds of torture instruments were set up in the interrogation room. Wang Jing was so proud that he went to the cell to pick up Xia Yunqing.
He wanted to see with his own eyes, Xia Shoufu, who had made him and his father suffer so much, begging at his feet.
Wang Jing glanced sideways at the old man in the iron bars, and said with a wicked smile: "Master Xia, long time no see, how is it in prison?"
Xia Yunqing calmly looked through the book in his hand without raising his eyelids and didn't respond to a word.
Wang Jing curled her lips and continued to ask: "I know there are some disputes between us, but don't worry, I, Wang Jing, am not a petty person. What I did today was all what the emperor asked me to do. You
want
Don’t blame me!”
Xia Yunqing calmly turned a page of the book and turned a deaf ear to Wang Jing's words.
His indifference made Wang Jing's face become increasingly ugly. He felt that he had been insulted and his dignity had been challenged.
Thinking that when he is a commander, no matter how tough the prisoner is, he will become docile in his hands.
He immediately lowered his face and gnashed his teeth and cursed: "What a strong-willed chief minister! I think you will be severely punished soon. How can you be tough with your old bones?"
As he spoke, he shouted to the officials on his left and right: "Go and drag this old guy to the interrogation room!"
The officials on the left and right were afraid of the power in his hands, so they had no choice but to open the iron door and walk in. They saluted Xia Yunqing respectfully: "Master Xia, please come with us!"
Xia Yunqing slowly put down the book, took a straw beside him, clamped it with the page he was looking at, and put the book on the table before slowly standing up and walking out of the cell with his head held high, following the two government officials.
Xia Yunqing, who was eight feet tall, passed by Wang Jing, who was less than six feet tall. His righteousness made him even more majestic. However, Wang Jing looked very wretched and embarrassed.
He glared angrily at Xia Yunqing's upright back and cursed in his heart: Damn it, I want you to look good today!
The torture chamber was not big, only five feet square. It was surrounded by copper and iron walls and there was not a single window.
The air is filled with the smell of dampness, decay and fishy stench, which makes people feel nauseous.
There were still stains of undried blood on the gleaming torture instruments, and several pieces of rotten flesh hung there, like wild beasts with big bloody mouths, grinning strangely at the elderly Xia Yunqing.
Xia Yunqing glanced indifferently at these exquisitely designed and ghastly torture instruments, but he didn't even frown. He just stood in the room with his head held high, calmly accepting everything Wang Jing arranged for him.
Wang Jing walked over in a swaggering manner, sat in front of him with her legs crossed, and said with a proud look: "Master Chief Assistant, you have also seen these instruments of torture! I am not scaring you, even if a strong man with a strong iron frame comes out from here,
You only have half a life left. I don’t think your body can withstand the torture. Why don’t you go ahead and accuse you of colluding with Lan Yu. I want you to do this because you and my father are officials in the same court.